Methuselah
- This article is about the Biblical character. See Methuselah (disambiguation) for other uses.
Methuselah or Metushélach (מתושלח "Man of the dart", Standard Hebrew Mətušélaḥ / Mətušálaḥ, Tiberian Hebrew Məṯűšélaḥ / Məṯűšālaḥ) was the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He reportedly reached the age of 969 years. According to the Book of Genesis 5:27: And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. (ASV)
He is mentioned in Genesis as the son of Enoch and the father of Lamech (father of Noah), whom he fathered at the age of 195. His name has become a general synonym for any living creature of great age. A close reading of the dates in the Old Testament reveals that Methuselah is said to have died the year of the Great Flood.
Modern cultural references
Robert Heinlein wrote a science fiction series about rejuvenation and a project called the 'Howard family' that was working to extend the human lifespan beyond 150 years - the first volume was called Methuselah's Children.
In the Star Trek episode "Requiem for Methuselah", Methuselah is revealed to be an immortal man born in the year 3834 BC. According to Star Trek, other identities of the immortal Methuselah included Leonardo Da Vinci, Merlin, Solomon, Lazarus, and Johannes Brahms. Methuselah was played in Star Trek by actor James Daly.
Lifespan
Our current knowledge on cellular lifespan hypothesizes that the natural limit on modern human longevity is well below 150 years. Guinness Records of longevity oscillate from year to year in the range 110-125 due to often questionable birth certification records from the late 19th century. Guinness Record statistics are soon likely to reveal the approximate true longest natural human lifespan yet acheived in modern times.
de:Methusalem nl:Metusalach